BYU was liberated in 2011, free from the mess of the MWC. The poor tv contract
with theMt and being left behind by Utah and TCU helped BYU make the decision,
and the ESPN contract made it possible. It was very liberating back then. And
while things could be much worse for BYU they certainly could also be improved.
But the WCC is a good, albeit temporary, fit for the bulk of BYU sports so BYU
is not in a huge rush to join a conference. BYU has done a great job positioning
itself for the future; football independence might not be the best place but BYU
is poised for greatness in the future!

There is no question that BYU is a program worthy of inclusion in a P5
conference, the question is whether or not any of those conferences want any
more schools? Realistically the Big 12 is the only one that would be a good fit
for BYU, and they seem content at 10 schools. So what can BYU do? Be the best
available school for expansion if/when the Big 12 decides to grow.

If/when BYU gets an invite to the Big 12, there will definitely be growing
pains. BYU is not on par with Texas and Oklahoma and would likely be battling
for 3rd place most seasons in the Big 12. Fortunately, however, the Big 12 top
to bottom isn't as strong as some of the other P5 conferences so BYU would
likely never be a conference bottom dweller. I think Bronco and Holmoe or doing
this right by saying/inferring "we like where we're at... but we'd
rather be in the Big 12."

I think it's hilarious that you always say utah is
going "onward and upward to Pac-12 glory" and say BYU is a lowly
mid-major, but you try to make a big deal over utah beating BYU the last few
years. You can't have all of these things at the same time.

One
of these things has to be true:

-utah is not nearly as good as you
make them out to be.-BYU is much better than you make them out to be.

I would say it's a combination of both, but if utah was actually
some elite program and BYU was just a mid-major, your claim to fame
wouldn't be that utah has beaten BYU, or that utah is in the Pac-12 and BYU
isn't.

BYU would be a good addition to the Big 12, regardless of what our commissioner
thinks. I think the folks at OU would love having BYU (Even though you beat us
in 2009........). I for one would much rather see OU play BYU than play Kansas
or ISU. BYU would bring a legit opponent, despite what some seem to think.

Not sure why these articles attract Utah University trolls in such large
droves. Believe me when I say that if I hadn't lived in Utah for a bit I
would be fuzzy on the difference between UU and USU. I was talking to my friend
from back East and he honestly thought that USU was the UU (And the eye test on
record perpetuates this).

You are right, BYU is a definitely a Mid Major, and is
clearly unwanted by the major conferences. That won't change any time soon,
and likely won't change ever.

Utah still plays like a Mid Major
despite being on the inside now. They still recruit largely Mid Major talent.
The difference is the size of their TV pay checks. Utah clearly wins in that
department.

Unfortunately neither school has truly moved to the
next level. As such the Oregon's, Ohio St's, and Florida St's of
the world consider both of these Utah schools irrelevant in the aggregate
discussion. Neither school is getting the kind of respect nationally that their
fan bases seem to be demanding.

Once again you naively take it upon yourself to try to
speak not only for Utah's PAC12 conference, but for every other P5
conference out there. Ridiculous. There are many other considerations to take
into account besides whether BYU is worthy or not. Conveniently, you neglected
to mention any of those considerations.

Look at BYU's record
regarding the Big12 over their recent history. They are 5-1. Definitely worthy.
What is Utah's conference record since joining the PAC12? Definitely
not worthy.

BYU has owned Utah in basketball over the past decade.
It doesn't bode well for you to claim that Utah is being owned by an
"unworthy" program. It would be in Ute fans best interest to promote
BYU's worthiness. It would then make their wins over BYU more meaningful.

My point is, off-the-cuff judgments like yours don't add to the
dialog in a positive way. You are only promoting divisiveness and perhaps even
displaying some ignorance of the situation. Let's try harder to keep local
bias out of the argument.

Like TooSmartForYou pointed out... it will
definitely come together when the timing is right. And so it will.

"Too bad every big time conference is well aware byu wants to be included
and no one thinks they are worthy."

Perhaps so...every conference
needs a "worthy" doormat they can beat up on every year to pad their
records. Colorado and Utah appeared to fit the "worthy" criteria, thus
the invitation to join the PAC.

I don't particularly care for
BYU, but Utah's incessant chest thumping about being "prestigious"
is pretty amusing considering their inability to compete against their
"worthy" PAC brothers...even with the millions of dollars that have been
flowing into the Ute athletic budget from the bowl games these brothers
participate in while the Utes cheer them on from the comfort of their homes.

"Running back Jamaal Williams said the Cougars want to be “the best
team in the world” before amending that to “best in the
nation.”

How cute.

@Wiscoug

3rd in the
conference? How do you figure? It wasn't all that long ago that TCU, a team
that is currently struggling, ate BYU's lunch year after year. Oklahoma
State, Tech, WVU, Kansas State, Baylor, TCU all mop the floor with the Cougars.
BYU beats Kansas and Iowa State. Thanks for the laugh though.

I've sat in the stands more at OU, U Mich, AL, AU and tOSU than I have at
BYU. BYU is not in that league by the depth of it's athletes alone.
Forget knocking off a team once in a while, I'm talking about week-in,
week-out. Neither is Utah, and they're going to keep proving it.

Independence is just the right situation for BYU; I think they've in
their sweet spot and should give it a full decade to let things get right and
find a stride.

Unfortunately for BYU and her fans, the right timing was
two years ago. That's when BYU told the Big 12 to take a hike. History
will look back at that decision as possibly the most colossal mistake in the
history of college athletics.

1. Yes, I think the football team could survive in a "big"
conference.2. Yes, if BYU were to move to a "big" conference, the
Big-12 makes the most sense.

That said ....

1. Look at
Utah. What is the (non economic)value in such a move? At least Utah can recruit
better players, but BYU gets the vast majority of LDS players they want. All
they can do is get better non-LDS players. Ask Gary Crowton how that went.

2. Big fish in little pond or little fish in big pond? I'd much
rather go 9-4 or 10-3 every year instead of being a 6-6 "big" conference
team.

I have seen every BYU game (in one form or another) since
1979. We've already seen the zenith of the program. We're as good as
we're going to be.

Boise State has done a lot of good things
out of the WAC and later the Mountain West Conference. The problem is that
Bronco has raised expectations of BYU football but not its talent. Under LaVell,
A WAC championship was a golden ticket.

"every conference needs a
'worthy' doormat they can beat up on every year to pad their
records"

What a frantic and emotional thing to say. If that were
true -- that conferences stand on the lookout for a way to weaken the brand of
their leagues -- then the Y would have been invited years ago, and the SEC would
have been poaching the Sun Belt and Missouri Valley conferences for teams like
Texas State and Missouri State rather than A&M and Mizzou.

Although it is in the realm of possibilities, I do not think BYU will ever get a
P5 invite. If you look at other schools that are mid majors who could bring
better market presence than BYU you will see my point. San Diego State comes to
mind.

I am glad BYU is finally admitting that competition wise, going
independent was a big blunder. They desperately need a conference, any
conference. The big problem with having no conference is once you lose once,
your season is done. The bigger problem is if you happen to schedule better
programs, you can pretty much count most of those as losses. If you pad your
schedule with lesser talent everyone views that and the W/L record means
nothing.

WS Grad. -- Do not let one Ute fan (Chris B) represent the entire Ute Nation
when he "thumps his chest". Most Ute fans are rational in knowing that
we have not performed on the football field to receive winning results like we
have hoped, thus it is frustrating. Humbly, most Ute fans are looking for
improvement each year and hoping our student athletes in key positions do not
have serious injuries that jeopardize the remaining season.

Our first
year in the PAC12 showed that we can compete in the PAC12 when we went 8-5 with
a bowl win. We will eventually get back to that level or higher if the last
four years of recruiting falls into place and our student athletes do not
sustain major injuries during the season.

I know this is going to smack of heresy, but Mendenhall needs to stop talking
and start winning. That last bowl game against Washington was a debacle. It
wasn't hard to determine the team that practiced 15 times and the team that
practiced 9 times. Until BYU starts winning the big games, i.e. Power-5 games,
it will never achieve the respect it craves.

I don't understand BYU fans liking their independent status. I get that
it's temporarily necessary for BYU (they needed out of the MWC). But if a
P5 conference doesn't call, then what do you do if you won't go back
to the MWC?

I understand that BYU is the rare school that can make
independence work. But then again, what is making it work even mean? Besides
Notre Dame and Service Academy's, the other independent schools are
insignificant programs. I think the answer to what I am asking that comes from
most content BYU fans on this subject is that BYU makes independence work
because of fan interest and TV exposure. hey, playing on ESPN is nice. But the
bottom line for me as to why I would be dissatisfied with independence if I were
a BYU fan is that exposure and access to watching games doesn't change the
opponents on the schedule. And the majority of BYU's opponents are
EXTREMELY weak.

I hear BYU needs to win to get into a P5 conference.
So do it. With their light schedule, if they beat Texas again then why
can't BYU go undefeated?